Preventative Care

Pets can experience significant health changes in as little as six months. For this reason, regular wellness exams are encouraged. Depending on age and health conditions, your companion will benefit from annual or semi-annual wellness exams to maintain health and prevent disease. This gives us more treatment options and a greater likelihood for treatment success. Not to mention the potential for lower treatment costs!

During a wellness exam, one of our veterinarians will perform a thorough nose-to-tail physical examination assessing all major bodily systems for abnormalities. We will check your pet’s eyes, ears, nose, dental health, pulmonary health, weight, skin and coat, joints, and abdominal region. If we suspect an area of concern, we may recommend additional testing for the health and safety of your pet.

You can expect your veterinarian to:

Perform a comprehensive physical exam

Recommend vaccinations and necessary diagnostic testing

Assess health trends and indications of illness such as weight gain or loss

Discuss your pet’s behavior, diet, and activity level

Vaccinations

Vaccinations protect your pet from infectious diseases. Based on factors such as age, health status, and lifestyle, your pet is bound to come in contact with a dangerous, yet preventable, conditions during their life. The good news is, by staying up-to-date on necessary vaccinations, your pet will remain healthy and happy, while you avoid costly treatments.

Bordetella, Lyme and Leptospirosis: may be recommended depending on your dog’s lifestyle

Parasite Prevention

Parasite infestation is a serious threat to your pet’s health and can even be fatal.
Protect your pet from fleas and ticks, intestinal parasites, and worms with routine testing and monthly preventatives!

Fleas and Ticks

External parasites that bite and irritate the skin

Fleas cause skin allergies such as dermatitis, tapeworm, and Bartonella.

Puppy & Kitten Care

We want to give your new pet the healthiest and happiest start in life! Puppies and kittens are cute and exciting, but they need an abundance of care and attention. Staying up-to-date on wellness exams, vaccinations, and diagnostic testing is crucial! At your initial visit, we will explain the importance of additional services such as spay-neuter procedure and microchip implantation. You will also receive information on the importance of parasite prevention as well as your first month of heartworm prevention on us.

Physical exams are critical to ensure your fur-baby is in good health. Before 2-4 months of age, we encourage 3-4 physical exams. During these visits, we will perform a comprehensive exam and establish a baseline of healthy values. These values reflect good health for your pet, allowing us to assess wellness in the future, as well as determine necessary vaccinations and diagnostics.

Vaccinations are preventative. Due to an immature immune system, young pets are at greater risk for acquiring illness and disease. We will give timely vaccinations tailored to your pet’s unique lifestyle, breed, and health status.

Diagnostics give us a closer look at your pet’s health. Before 6 months of age, puppies should be tested for heartworm. At the first wellness visit, kittens will be tested for Feline Leukemia and Feline AIDS (FeLV/FIV).

Geriatric Care

We want to protect the special bond you have formed with your companion over the years.

As pets enter the golden years, their immune system weakens, making them more vulnerable to illness, disease, and parasites. To keep your senior pet happy and healthy, we strongly recommend semi-annual visits. This allows us to closely monitor health changes such as weight loss, high blood pressure, dental disease, cataracts, glaucoma, arthritis, cancer, and various other conditions, as well as prevent disease progression.

Senior pets will develop new age-related behaviors, but this does not mean you should give up on your pet! You may begin to notice greater vocalization, confusion and disorientation, irritability, less responses, less grooming, house soiling, repetitive actions, frequent wandering, and an altered sleep schedule. Do not worry. This is totally normal and we are here to help.

Microchipping

Accidents happen!

Veterinary hospitals and animals shelters across the country are able to scan lost pets for microchips in hopes of reuniting them with their owner. Implantation is quick, painless, and inexpensive. To minimize stress to your pet, we often implant the microchip at the same time as another procedure such as spay-neuter. Implanted beneath the skin and between the shoulder blades, this form of identification is permanent and programmed with your personal contact information.

Collars and ID tags are helpful, but not totally reliable. These forms of identification can fall off, get lost, or removed. At South Kendall Animal Hospital, we encourage all pets, indoor and outdoor, be microchipped, as well as use collars and ID tags.

County Rabies Tags

Rabies tags are proof that your pet has been vaccinated for the rabies virus.
Vaccinating your pet protects your pet, other animals, humans, and is required by law. A rabies vaccination does not last a lifetime! Pets should be vaccinated around 5 months of age and will need re-vaccinated every 1-3 years.

Nutritional Counseling

Your pets nutritional needs differ from your own. An inadequate diet and sharing human food can lead to a number of complications such as allergic reactions, toxicity, and obesity. We strive to offer valuable advice and recommendations to our clients based on a pet’s age, gender, weight, health status, and breed.

Nutritional counseling has proven effective, which is why we incorporate it as part of our preventative care plan. Your pet may benefit from nutritional counseling if they live with nutritional challenges such as liver disease, renal failure, bladder and kidney stones, food allergies, and obesity. You would not believe the difference a specialized and balanced diet can make! If you notice sudden and unexpected weight gain or loss, do you not hesitate to contact us. This may be a sign of an underlying condition.

We offer expertise on the following nutritional topics:

Weight Gain & Loss

Puppy & Kitten Nutrition

Senior Nutrition

Prescription Diets

How to Develop a Home-made Diet

Reading & Understanding Pet Food Labels

Behavior Counseling

Unwanted behaviors are the #1 reason pets are given up to shelters, yet behavior is modifiable! At South Kendall Animal Hospital, we are dedicated to keeping your two-legged and four-legged family together. Our veterinarians are highly trained to address even the toughest behavioral problems.

We are here to help with the following behavioral concerns:

House Soiling

Separation Anxiety

Phobias and Acute Anxiety

House and Crate Training

Obedience and Manners

Introducing new pets

Preparing pets for life with a newborn baby

First time Dog or Cat Owners

We also provide puppy socialization classes and behavior training through Applause your Paws, a company with wonderful certified professional dog trainers.